Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Rose Epstein.
Hi Emily Rose, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Los Angeles but moved up to San Francisco for school and lived there for many years. I was a touring drummer for Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin for about six years or so and then I put my roots back down in Los Angeles, where I started working for Spaceland and other promoters, booking clubs all over the city and working constantly. I eventually ended up leaving Spaceland to go work at Zebulon and that’s where I’ve been since. I currently co-founded and help run a non-profit with several other incredible women I know that fundraises and raises awareness for a variety of feminist causes and I work as a domestic violence survivor advocate as well for Peace Over Violence. Additionally, I have my Real Estate license and I work alongside my father and step-mom as an agent with Powerhouse Partners at Berkshire Hathaway, with a particular interest in and love for East Los Angeles. I still play in bands, most frequently in my own project, Emily Rose and the Rounders (formerly known as the Blue Rose Rounders) which is a traditional country music project.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing worth doing is ever too smooth! So many struggles along the way…the touring life can be really difficult emotionally, physically, financially. It can really break you. I don’t regret doing it but I suffered a shoulder/neck injury that affected my drumming and that was really difficult, along with other after effects of being gone for so long in an alternative reality. You sort of have to relearn how to live a normal life again, how to be accountable for things, how to think for yourself, basic and strange things that you sort of forget about out there. I’ve struggled with work-life balance in my professional life – I’m the kind of person who always has to be doing things – which led to some unhealthy behaviors (lack of sleep, anxiety, etc.) and it’s been a real blessing to be able to go through that and come out the other side and find ways to be both super productive AND healthier, more well rounded.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Emily Rose and the Rounders is probably the thing that makes me the happiest in my life. I’ve been in bands since I was thirteen and have always wanted to sing but never really had the guts to do it. I went through a lot of huge changes in my late twenties and at some point, I had this very powerful change that happened in me where I was like “Fuck everything, fuck what anyone thinks, I just need to do what I want to do from now on.” And that’s not like a callous thing, it’s just about wanting to live authentically and do the things that make me happy, not wanting to be held back by fear or doubt anymore. And I truly don’t really live that way anymore. The transformation was insane. I started writing songs I felt proud of, I didn’t have stage fright on stage anymore and I’ve been having the best time playing country music with my closest friends in different projects and specifically this one for the past five or six years. I’m super proud of the shows we play and the energy we give to the audience. It’s a really connective experience and it means the world to me. I think what sets us apart, at least in the LA country scene, is that we’re a really really traditional band. We’re most influenced by people like Webb Pierce, Ernest Tubb, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Patsy Cline, Red Simpson. There’s really nothing modern about our sound, it’s straightforward country music that can make you dance or make you cry and it’s for everyone. That’s what country music is all about for me.
What matters most to you? Why?
Family. That includes my friends, but yeah family is everything. Communication, loyalty, learning together, forgiveness, togetherness. If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s that the only thing that really matters are the people around us and the love and support we can give to each other.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/emilyroseandtherounders| instagram.com/
emilyroseepsteinrealtor - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilyroseandtherounders
Image Credits:
1. Judith Rothman Pierce
2. Katie Stratton
3. Sean Rosenthal
4. Katie Stratton
5. Michelle Ross
